A Good Life
by Sillimaure
Summary: After years of separation, reunion is sweet. Written for the SRJS Wordless Romance Challenge on the TFN Boards.


**A/N: **I wrote this vignette for the SJRS Wordless Romance Challenge on the TFN boards. The challenge was to write a romantic story which does not use the words 'I love you' and does not allow Luke and Mara to touch. It is a little off the beaten path, but I think it works.

**A Good Life**

There were fifteen minutes left; fifteen minutes until the turning of a new day – the next in a procession of endless days and nights in the stately march of time. The years of his life were no more than a blip in that eternal dance, an infinitesimal dot on the grand cosmos of the universe. But whether or not the ticking of the clock would herald a new day before the end arrived rested entirely upon the will of the Force.

He was tired. Luke Skywalker, rebel hero, Jedi Master and savior of the New Republic was weary; the end was near.

_It was a good life,_ he reflected as he drifted, feeling the currents of the Force as they brushed past his conscience, caressed his spirit. There had been moments of bliss, moments of misery – heartbreak, joy, pain, elation, sorrow and laughter all rolled up into one lifetime of experiences – the substance of any life. He had had his share of it all.

But now he knew – felt instinctively that it was almost at an end. The journey was over – the next was about to start.

He felt a soft touch on his brow. Although even a simple act was almost too much, he willed himself to open his eyes and found himself gazing through watery orbs into the eyes of his oldest son. Around him, the other members of the family – the Skywalker and Solo clans – friends and colleagues stood in attendance, their presence a welcoming and soothing balm. There was nary a dry eye in the room as they gathered together, their presence a tribute as they lent their support to their family patriarch, helping to usher him from this life.

_Ben's showing some age himself,_ he thought to himself wryly.

"Father," his son whispered, his pain reflected clearly in his voice. "I wish you'd allowed us to take you to the medical center. They may have been able to save you."

Luke shook his head, the effort of the simple motion almost too much for his fragile and wasted body. "No, Ben. No more medical centers – I've been in those places enough for one life time. There was nothing to be done this time."

"But, what am I to do without you?"

"You'll do what you always have, my son – what you were born to. You all will."

"I can't lead the order, father," he protested. "You _are_ the Jedi, father. You built us, molded us, shaped us into what we are now… What will we do without you?"

"Ben, I was never going to live forever – you know this. You've been trained for this from the day you were born. You can and _will_ do this – I know you can. And you will have the support of your brother and sisters, Han and Leia's children and all the other members of the council."

Ben bowed his head, tears glistening in his eyes. There was no doubt in Luke's mind that his son would lead the Jedi, transform them into something better, forge them into a greater force for good and justice. Ben was weighed down under the same insecurities his father had felt when he was young, when master Yoda had laid the burden of the future of the Jedi on his shoulders. But Ben had been trained for this moment from birth – he would not fail.

"My son," Luke said, his voice escaping his throat in a weak croak, "remember always to follow the Force, accept its guidance – it will never fail you. I felt much as you do when I knelt by Master Yoda's bed and watched him pass away into the Force. I will always be with you, just as my masters have always been with me."

His son took a deep shuddering breath as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. "I'll try, Father."

"No, you'll do," Luke responded. "There is no try, remember?"

Ben's lips formed into a tremulous smile and he dipped his head in acknowledgement. Luke could see a visible change come over Ben as he accepted his destiny – the mantle of duty and authority settling on his shoulders, still new and uncomfortable, but palpable. He wore it well.

"Be there for one another," Luke instructed, raising his voice to reach all in the room. "Trust in one another and support one another. I am proud of you all – Mara, Han and Leia were proud of you. I know that I am leaving the Jedi and the Republic in good hands. You will improve it; make it into something better, breathe a life into it that those of us who grew up on war and suffering never could. I have faith in you all."

Luke's eyes closed and he sank back into the bed with a sigh, nearly spent. He could feel his strength leaving him, slipping from his body as he slipped away toward death and the Force.

_It's strange, _he mused, _strange to know it will soon be over. It was a good life._

_Sage advice, Skywalker._

Luke's eyes snapped open and he searched the room for the source of the voice – a voice he had not heard in… a woman he had not seen for an eternity. He noted the curious looks on the faces of those gathered around him as his eyes searched feverishly, willing her to reveal herself. He ignored them – the need to find her outweighed all other concerns.

And there, in the middle of the room, facing him with a brilliant smile on her face, he saw her. She was bathed in a blue nimbus, the same as all the others who had appeared to him over the years. Her features were young and beautiful, as beautiful as they had been the first time he had seen her all those years before. Her eyes were the same brilliant orbs they had been in life.

_Mara,_ he sent, his body too weak for spoken words. _It's been too long._

_Too long for you,_ she retorted. _I've seen you many times._

_Would it have been too much to ask for you to appear to me? _he said, his heart suddenly free of the ache it had held since her presence had been removed from his life.

_You know it was, _she responded, her smile brighter if that was even possible. _The few times I did appear to you were taxing enough. Trust me; it's not something to be taken lightly._

_You never took anything lightly your whole life._

_You may be right about that,_ _Farm-boy. After all, I married you._

Luke closed his eyes, his soul once again filled with her warm and soothing presence. He felt complete for the first time since she had been taken from his side. He knew he would never leave her again.

_Are you coming or not?_

_That's all there is to it?_ he responded, his eyes open and fixed on her face once more.

_What did you expect?_ she jibed. _All the angels of Iego gathered together, a mighty fanfare, the bright lights of the Force shining, welcoming the mighty conquering hero home?_

Mara had always known how to bring him down a peg.

_No, none of that,_ he assured her. _But they always speak of a bright light and a welcome feeling of coming home, beckoning the dying into the embrace of the Force._

_You've read too many holo-novels,_ she retorted. _The Force has a sentience of a sort, but it does not concern itself with us individually, even ones such as you who have shaped history for many centuries to come._

_Ah, so now you're admitting I'm special,_ he teased.

Mara's visage changed and a soft and tender look appeared. _You always have been special, my Farm-boy. And I was privileged to have shared my life with you._

_The privilege was all mine._

She smiled at him again – if he still had breath in his lungs, it would have been stilled at the sight.

Luke glanced around him, taking in the room and the sight of his family, all gathered around in sadness, offering wordless comfort to each other. It was a poignant scene, one to which he had been no stranger during the course of his life.

His eyes blinked in surprise and he suddenly realized he was standing beside the bed; somehow, some time during his conversation with his wife, he had left his body behind. It still lay there, a cold lifeless husk – his spirit had fled.

He looked down, inspecting his hands as he wondered at the change in his body. None of the others in the room seemed to see him – their attention riveted on the corporeal body still lying there. His body looked substantial to his own gaze; nothing had changed except for…

His hand. He flexed it, marveling at the feeling of completeness. What use was a mechanical hand in the Force? He was whole once more.

He glanced up at the clock on the wall. One minute left. So he had not made it to the next day after all.

_So if you're done with your self-examination, can we go?_

Luke glanced back at his wife, her face alight with an amused expression. He understood – it was not unusual for the suddenly deceased to wonder at the difference, the appearance of their new form.

_I guess I am ready,_ he responded.

Luke gazed around the room once more, drinking in the sad faces of his family and friends, memorizing them, bidding them farewell until they would meet again. He placed his hands on Ben's shoulders in benediction, willing his son to receive his last expression of love and support. He knew his son could not have physically felt his father's hands, but on some level their souls communicated. Ben straightened and a smile appeared on his tear-streaked face.

_I am ready, _Luke said, turning back to his wife.

Mara nodded and turned away, leading him away from the room into the vastness of the Force.

_Mara!_ Luke called, hurrying to catch her.

She stopped and turned, her eyes searching his as he stepped up to face her. Luke looked down into her face and projected his love and devotion, his happiness at their reunion.

_I'm happy to be home,_ he said simply.

_I'm happy you're home, Luke, _she responded, her own feelings embracing him in return.

They turned away – side by side they began the journey, never speaking - the words had already been spoken, the feelings exchanged. There was nothing more to say.

It had been a good life, but now the next journey had begun.


End file.
